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Group pressures and individual rights

Overview

Moral groups try to define the world in which they believe they, and everyone else, should live. Often they try to impose their version of the proper moral world on others in society. Religious and feminist groups, in particular, use pornography as a major symbol of their moral vision.

Hugh Potter explores this issue, raising questions on the way. He shows that the meaning of "pornography" is a chameleon. For some groups it means one thing, for some another; for some it is everywhere, for others nowhere, reflecting the group’s particular view of where society’s moral goalposts should be placed.

Potter believes that Australia has a fairer and more effective control system than elsewhere, and uses the results of a national survey of X-rated video purchasers to contradict many of the popular images of pornography and its consumers in public debate.

Table of Contents

Introduction
We all know it’s wrong: Creating and maintaining boundaries through consensus
Radical conflict approaches to sexual behaviour
Pornography as one of the ultimate symbols of "evil" in the late 20th century
There is no pornography in Oz: A brief history of the X rating in Australia
The Australian pornography industry: It’s a living
Purchasers and consumption histories
Uses and abuses: What, where and why?
Sexual libertines or responsible consumers?
The enduring evil of pornography
A personal concluding statement